Isaiah 48

You have neither heard nor understood;     from of old your ears have not been open. Well do I know how treacherous you are;     you were called a rebel from birth. 9 For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath;     for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,     so as not to destroy you completely. 10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver;     I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.     How can I let myself be defamed?     I will not yield my glory to another.

Psalm 37

3Trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4Delight yourself in the Lord

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him and he will do this:

6He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

7Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret—it leads only to evil.

16Better the little that the righteous have

than the wealth of many wicked;

17for the power of the wicked will be broken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

18The days of the blameless are known to the Lord,

and their inheritance will endure forever.

19In times of disaster they will not wither;

in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. 

23If the Lord delights in a man’s way,

he makes his steps firm;

24though he stumble, he will not fall,

for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

25I was young and now I am old,

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

26They are always generous and lend freely;

their children will be blessed.

27Turn from evil and do good;

then you will dwell in the land forever.

28For the Lord loves the just

and will not forsake his faithful ones.

39The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

40The Lord helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.

Isaiah 7

7Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,

it will not happen,

8for the head of Aram is Damascus,

and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.

Within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.

If you do not stand firm in your faith,

you will not stand at all.

Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Isaiah 6

7With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Psalm 91

9If you make the Most High your dwelling—

even the Lord, who is my refuge—

10then no harm will befall you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

11For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

12they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

16With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

Isaiah 7

7Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,

it will not happen,

8for the head of Aram is Damascus,

and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.

Within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.

If you do not stand firm in your faith,

you will not stand at all.’”

Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Isaiah 7

7Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,

it will not happen,

8for the head of Aram is Damascus,

and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.

Within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.

If you do not stand firm in your faith,

you will not stand at all.’”

Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more

Isaiah 7

7Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,

it will not happen,

8for the head of Aram is Damascus,

and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.

Within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.

If you do not stand firm in your faith,

you will not stand at all.’”

Proverbs 30

 5 “Every word of God is flawless;
   he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words,
   or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

 7 “Two things I ask of you, LORD;
   do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
   give me neither poverty nor riches,
   but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
   and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
   and so dishonor the name of my God.

Isaiah 25

1O Lord, you are my God;

I will exalt you and praise your name,

for in perfect faithfulness

you have done marvelous things,

things planned long ago.

2You have made the city a heap of rubble,

the fortified town a ruin,

the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;

it will never be rebuilt.

3Therefore strong peoples will honor you;

cities of ruthless nations will revere you.

4You have been a refuge for the poor,

a refuge for the needy in his distress,

a shelter from the storm

and a shade from the heat.

For the breath of the ruthless

is like a storm driving against a wall

5and like the heat of the desert.

You silence the uproar of foreigners;

as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,

so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

Isaiah 7

7Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,

it will not happen,

8for the head of Aram is Damascus,

and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.

Within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.

If you do not stand firm in your faith,

you will not stand at all.’”

Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Isaiah 25

1O Lord, you are my God;

I will exalt you and praise your name,

for in perfect faithfulness

you have done marvelous things,

things planned long ago.

2You have made the city a heap of rubble,

the fortified town a ruin,

the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;

it will never be rebuilt.

3Therefore strong peoples will honor you;

cities of ruthless nations will revere you.

4You have been a refuge for the poor,

a refuge for the needy in his distress,

a shelter from the storm

and a shade from the heat.

For the breath of the ruthless

is like a storm driving against a wall

5and like the heat of the desert.

You silence the uproar of foreigners;

as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,

so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

Matthew 7:7

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Isaiah 42

1“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him

and he will bring justice to the nations.

2He will not shout or cry out,

or raise his voice in the streets.

3A bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

4he will not falter or be discouraged

till he establishes justice on earth.

In his law the islands will put their hope.”

5This is what God the Lord says—

he who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,

who gives breath to its people,

and life to those who walk on it:

6“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;

I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you

to be a covenant for the people

and a light for the Gentiles,

7to open eyes that are blind,

to free captives from prison

and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

8“I am the Lord; that is my name!

I will not give my glory to another

or my praise to idols.

9See, the former things have taken place,

and new things I declare;

before they spring into being

I announce them to you.” 

24Who handed Jacob over to become loot,

and Israel to the plunderers?

Was it not the Lord,

against whom we have sinned?

For they would not follow his ways;

they did not obey his law.

25So he poured out on them his burning anger,

the violence of war.

It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;

it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

Isaiah 43

1But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

3For I am the Lord, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,

Cush^a and Seba in your stead.

4Since you are precious and honored in my sight,

and because I love you,

I will give men in exchange for you,

and people in exchange for your life.

5Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

Psalm 75

1We give thanks to you, O God,

we give thanks, for your Name is near;

men tell of your wonderful deeds

Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Isaiah 43

 1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
   he who created you, Jacob,
   he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
   I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
   I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
   they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
   you will not be burned;
   the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
   the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
   Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
   and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
   nations in exchange for your life.

Isaiah 43

Israel’s Only Savior

 1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
   he who created you, Jacob,
   he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
   I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
   I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
   they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
   you will not be burned;
   the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
   the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
   Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
   and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
   nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
   I will bring your children from the east
   and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
   and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
   and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
   whom I created for my glory,
   whom I formed and made.”
 8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
   who have ears but are deaf.
9 All the nations gather together
   and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold this
   and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
   so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,
   “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
   and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
   nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the LORD,
   and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
   I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.
 13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
   When I act, who can reverse it?”

God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

 14 This is what the LORD says—
   your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
   and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,[b]
   in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the LORD, your Holy One,
   Israel’s Creator, your King.”
 16 This is what the LORD says—
   he who made a way through the sea,
   a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
   the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
   extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 “Forget the former things;
   do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
   Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
   and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me,
   the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
   and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
 21 the people I formed for myself
   that they may proclaim my praise.

 22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
   you have not wearied yourselves for[c] me, Israel.
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,
   nor honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with grain offerings
   nor wearied you with demands for incense.
24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,
   or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
   and wearied me with your offenses.

 25 “I, even I, am he who blots out
   your transgressions, for my own sake,
   and remembers your sins no more.
26 Review the past for me,
   let us argue the matter together;
   state the case for your innocence.
27 Your first father sinned;
   those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.
28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;
   I consigned Jacob to destruction[d]
   and Israel to scorn.

Isaiah 7

7Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,

it will not happen,

8for the head of Aram is Damascus,

and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.

Within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.

9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.

If you do not stand firm in your faith,

you will not stand at all.’”

Isaiah 53

1Who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

2He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Like one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4Surely he took up our infirmities

and carried our sorrows,

yet we considered him stricken by God,

smitten by him, and afflicted.

5But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

6We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

7He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

8By oppression^a and judgment he was taken away.

And who can speak of his descendants?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

for the transgression of my people he was stricken.^b

9He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the Lord makes^c his life a guilt offering,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

11After the suffering of his soul,

he will see the light [of life]^d and be satisfied^e;

by his knowledge^f my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

12Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,^g

and he will divide the spoils with the strong,^h

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

Lamentations 3

19I remember my affliction and my wandering,

the bitterness and the gall.

20I well remember them,

and my soul is downcast within me.

21Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

22Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

23They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him.”

25The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him;

26it is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord.

27It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is young.

Isaiah 45

2I will go before you

and will level the mountains^a;

I will break down gates of bronze

and cut through bars of iron.

3I will give you the treasures of darkness,

riches stored in secret places,

so that you may know that I am the Lord,

the God of Israel, who summons you by name

Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Isaiah 43

1But now, this is what the Lord says—

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

3For I am the Lord, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,

Cush^a and Seba in your stead.

4Since you are precious and honored in my sight,

and because I love you,

I will give men in exchange for you,

and people in exchange for your life.

5Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

Isaiah 43:25

"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Psalm 91

14“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

16With long life will I satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”